• The boy tore through the flames, paying no mind to the heat. He was used to it… besides, Father needed the new pups tended to. The demon-hounds, they were Kasai’s charge in this barren world.

    With flame constantly blackening the trees that somehow grew, the rocky landscape was littered with dark, sooty soil. Sheer, dry heat prevented most of human descent from living here, but Kasai was different, born and raised in this desert land.

    Fiery skies were often clogged with a dense cover of hazy smoke. However, while they were seldom clear, the shade of tone ranged from a deep violet-black at night to a vivid orange-red or even chartreuse during the day. Today… it was an odd, sickly yellow.

    His footsteps thundered across the ground despite his slight size, the earth below filled with caverns and tunnels. The dist and ash bothered him little as it coated his visible flesh. Tight wraps covered much of him, keeping the dirt from penetrating his tightly-woven garments very much. The original earthy tone of the clothes was invisible under the daily grime, but fortunately those he encountered cared little. They were often coated with grime as well, after all. So few places could evade the fine particles for long, even within dwellings.

    Kasai paused for a moment to catch his breath. Ikari mustn’t find out he had strayed as far as he had... He had just enough experience to know it was better to show up a moment late fully prepared than to appear on time and be entirely out of breath, unprepared.

    He brushed his tousled, deep violet hair from his face. It was nearly black, the tone of the sky on some special nights. The slight difference from black was just enough to mark him as at least half demon, his father’s son and not a hated human. It had saved his life often enough in this world. His mother, however… she had lacked any sign of the demonic quarter she possessed, inherited from her own parents, and so she had to leave a few short years after Kasai’s birth.

    Kasai recalled the woman he had known as Mom, as Mother. Her wispy, thick brown hair struck him suddenly, the locks that had possessed a golden gleam. That special shine, it was so lovely in memory, yet Kasai had received none of it. Rather, he had the fortune to obtain her gentle looks.

    That much of his fortune he cursed… he would much rather have her hair than the human face he had. Kasai wanted his father’s eyes, his wings, maybe even the horns. Ugh, what sort of luck was that?

    “Crud… why’d I hafta end up like this?” He asked aloud. There was another thing, his squeak of a voice. It sounded like a girl’s! His style of speech was the one thing that differentiated from some of the girls’ around here. Gah, ten years old and his voice was still the same as when he was seven. By now, most of his friends were at least sounding entirely like boys. The wonders of them being full demon, mostly…

    He was only five-eighths, but it was enough for him to be able to live here without much fear. It was somewhat a boast. The least most tolerated was half, and he was above that, socially and bloodline-wise.

    His dirt-coated hand pushed aside the door with a slight metal groan, then the thick cloth that hung behind it. It was a vain attempt to stop the ash and sand, however. The odor of violence lingered too strongly here, as well. Kasai personally hated it, but what could he do?

    His father was just down the hall, to tell him of which of the hounds had the newest litter for him to tend to, or if one was about to. Kasai's face was calm, completely and utterly emotionless. Despite the trickles of irritation coming down the hall and the fear to his left, he managed it.

    As he entered Ikari's chambers, the usual rush of nostalgia washed over him. A static generator hummed softly, lifting the worst of the ash and filth from his flesh. Ikari's men may be lesser demons, but that didn't mean they were stupid. The glamour and technology the demon lived with exemplified that clearly.

    Richly colored, intricate patters showed often. Where they weren't, a solid shade filled their position. The maroons, the navys... even some deep hunter green. Interspersed with neutral golds and tans, the colors filled a dark, pleasant spectrum.

    The furniture was all huge, matching the room. Detailed wood flooring laid upon the ground, and there was even some of a similar sort up about three feet on the walls. It was a magnificent sight to any of lower rank. To Kasai and Ikari, it was merely a display of Ikari's influence and power upon the realm. There were more wonderful rooms when someone actually chose to negotiate rather than fight, though.

    He raised his head to meet his father's eyes. The deep, penetrating gaze of a copper or bronze shade that Kasai was so jealous of. It all depended on the warlord's mood, however. A bronze gaze met Kasai's own incredibly dark eyes, and he gave an internal sigh of relief. Ikari was calm enough, not going to fly into a rage because of precious minutes wasted.

    The metallic eyes narrowed, thinking as they scanned his son. "You're late, boy." His gravelly voice seemed to echo throughout the chamber. "Mika is whelping. Hurry out and tend to her, before she repeats last time." A bad incident... Kasai wanted none of it, and so, he was out the door in a flash.